Frith's research[28] initiated the current representation of a theory of mind deficit in autism. Her 1985 Cognition paper Does the autistic child have a 'theory of mind?[29] proposed that people with autism have specific difficulties understanding other people's beliefs and desires. This study was conducted with Alan M. Leslie and Simon Baron-Cohen.

She was one of the first to study Asperger's syndrome in the UK and her work has focused on reading development, spelling and dyslexia.[21][25]

She has also suggested that individuals with autism have 'weak central coherence', and are better than typical individuals at processing details but worse at integrating information from many different sources.[30] Frith was one of the first neuroscientists to recognise "autism as a condition of the brain rather than the result of cold parenting."[31]

Frith has advocated for the advancement of women in science, in part by developing a support network called Science & Shopping[35] which she hopes will "encourage women to share ideas and information that are inspiring and fun".[36] She also co-founded the UCL Women network, "a grassroots networking and social organization for academic staff (postdocs and above) in STEM at UCL", in January 2013.[37]

In 2009 Uta Frith and her husband jointly received the European Latsis Prize for their contribution to understanding the human mind and brain.[48] In 2014 they were awarded the Jean Nicod Prize[49] for their work on social cognition.

^ abSmith, Kerri; Baker, Noah (2016). "Back to the thesis: Late nights, typos, self-doubt and despair. Francis Collins, Sara Seager and Uta Frith dust off their theses, and reflect on what the PhD was like for them.". Nature. 535 (7610): 22–25. doi:10.1038/535022a.